Olefins, such as ethylene, are polymerized using as a polymerization catalyst a complex of a selected transition metal with a monoanionic ligand that has three donor atoms which may coordinate to the transition metal.
Polymers of olefins are important items of commerce, and these polymers are used in a myriad of ways, from low molecular weight polyolefins being used as a lubricant and in waxes, to higher molecular weight grades being used for fiber, films, molding resins, elastomers, etc.
Olefins may be polymerized by a variety of transition metal containing catalysts, for example metallocene and Ziegler-Natta type catalysts. More recently, late transition metal containing polymerization catalysts have also been discovered, and among them are nickel and other transition metal containing catalysts in which the nickel atom is complexed to a neutral or monoanionic ligand, see for instance U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,556, U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,241, U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,569, WO9842664, WO9842665 and WO9830609, all of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes as if fully set forth. None of these references describes the complexes disclosed herein. Since polyolefins are important commercial materials, new catalysts for their manufacture are constantly being sought.
One aspect of the present invention concerns a first process for the polymerization of olefins, comprising the step of contacting, at a temperature of about xe2x88x92100xc2x0 C. to about +200xc2x0 C., one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of ethylene and an olefin of the formula H2Cxe2x95x90CH(CH2)nG (XVII), with an active catalyst comprising a Group 3 to Group 10 transition metal complex of an anion of the formula (I) 
wherein:
R1 is hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, and R2 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, and provided that R1 and R2 taken together may be ortho-arylene or substituted ortho-arylene;
R3 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl or a functional group, provided that when R1 and R2 taken together are ortho-arylene or substituted ortho-arylene, R3 may form a fused ring system therewith;
Q is nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous or sulfur;
R4 and R5 are each independently hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, or substituted hydrocarbyl, provided that R4 and R5 taken together may form a ring, and further provided that when Q is oxygen or sulfur R5 is not present;
Z is a bridging group of the formula (II) or (III) 
R6 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, provided that R3 and R6 together may form a ring;
R7 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, provided that R3, R6 and R7 together may form an aromatic ring or R6 and R7 taken together may form a ring;
R8 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl;
R9 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, provided that R4 and R9 taken together may be part of a double bond to an imino nitrogen atom, or R8 and R9 taken together may form a ring, or R4, R5, R8 and R9 taken together may form an aromatic ring, or R4 and R9 taken together may form a ring, or R4, R8 and R9 taken together may form a ring, or R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, and R9 taken together may form a fused aromatic ring system;
R10, R11, R12 and R13 are each independently hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl or R10, R11, R12 and R13 taken together are ortho-arylene;
R14 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl;
R4 and R15 together are part of a double bond to an imino nitrogen atom;
n is an integer of 1 or more;
G is hydrogen, xe2x80x94CO2R16 or xe2x80x94C(O)NR162; and
each R16 is independently hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl.
Another aspect of the present invention conerns a second process for the polymerization of olefins, comprising the step of contacting, at a temperature of about xe2x88x92100xc2x0 C. to about +200xc2x0 C., one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of ethylene and H2Cxe2x95x90CH(CH2)nG (XVII), with a compound of the formula (IV) 
wherein:
R1 is hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, and R2 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, and provided that R1 and R2 taken together may be ortho-arylene or substituted ortho-arylene;
R3 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl or a functional group, provided that when R1 and R2 taken together are ortho-arylene or substituted ortho-arylene, R3 may form a fused ring system therewith;
R4 and R5 are each independently hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, or substituted hydrocarbyl, provided that R4 and R5 taken together may form a ring, and further provided that when Q is oxygen or sulfur R5 is not present;
Q is nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous or sulfur;
Z is a bridging group of the formula (II) or (III) 
R6 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, or R3 and R6 together may form a ring;
R7 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, provided that R3, R6 and R7 together may form an aromatic ring, or R6 and R7 taken together may form a ring;
R8 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl;
R9 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, or R4 and R9 taken together may be part of a double bond to an imino nitrogen atom, or R8 and R9 taken together may form a ring, or R4, R5, R8 and R9 taken together may form an aromatic ring, or R4 and R9 taken together may form a ring, or R4, R8 and R9 taken together may form a ring, or R4, R5, R6, R7, R8 and R9 taken together may form a fused aromatic ring system;
R10, R11, R12 and R13 are each independently hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, or R10, R11, R12 and R13 taken together are ortho-arylene;
R14 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl;
R4 and R15 together are part of a double bond to an imino nitrogen atom;
n is an integer of 1 or more;
G is hydrogen, xe2x80x94CO2R16, or xe2x80x94C(O)NR162;
each R16 is independently hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, or substituted hydrocarbyl;
M is a Group 3 to Group 10 transition metal;
m is an integer equal to the valence of M minus 1; and
each L1 is independently a monodentate monoanionic ligand and at least for one of L1 an ethylene molecule may insert between L1 and M, and L2 is a monodentate neutral ligand which may be displaced by ethylene or an empty coordination site, or an L1 and L2 taken together are a monoanionic polydentate ligand and at least for one of these polydentate ligands ethylene may insert between said monoanionic polydentate ligand and M.
In the above-mentioned processes, (IV) and/or the transition metal complex of (I) may in and of themselves be active catalysts, or may be xe2x80x9cactivatedxe2x80x9d by contact with a co-catalyst/activator.
The present invention also concerns a compound of the formula (V) 
wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, Q, Z (and all R groups associated with Z), M and m are as defined above for (IV),
p is 0 or 1; and
each L3 is independently a monodentate monoanionic ligand, and L4 is a monodentate neutral ligand or an empty coordination site, or an L3 and L4 taken together are a monoanionic bidentate ligand.
Further aspects of the present invention include, for example, the anion of the formula (I) as defined above, as well as a Group 3 to Group 10 transition metal complex of such anion.